There is a small but growing interest in the upper Midwest in growing buckwheat. Buckwheat is grown either as a cover crop or green manure crop that is plowed down, or it can be harvested for grain. It makes a good cover crop or green manure crop because it is fast growing and competitive with weeds, it grows well under low fertility conditions, and it is able to extract phosphorous from the soil that has low availability to other crops. As a grain crop, buckwheat contains some important amino acids and is valued for use in Japanese noodles (soba), breakfast cereal, and pancake mixes.
Buckwheat has an indeterminate growth habit, which means that not all the seeds mature at the same time. Also, mature seeds are prone to shattering. Thus, the crop needs to be harvested before all the seeds are mature and the harvested grain contains several maturity and moisture levels. The crop can be swathed and allowed to dry in the field before harvest. It can also be direct cut, but if it is, artificial drying will probably be necessary.
There isn't very much published US literature on buckwheat drying and storage, so I searched the World Wide Web, posted a question on an international stored products listserv, and talked to personnel from a company that handles specialty grains. I put the assembled information into a short handout. If you'd like a copy, let me know (wilck001@umn.edu). This handout is an evolving document, however, and I plan to continue to add information as it becomes available. If you have information or know of sources of information on buckwheat drying and storage, please let me know.
This page is part of the Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Department web at http://www.bae.umn.edu/